ABS-CBN Corp. on Wednesday inaugurated two Hollywood-style studios in Bulacan province in a bid to reduce costs and expand content output beyond the Philippines to foreign audiences.
“We want to bring ABS-CBN content to the international stage, and having a state-of-the-art facility and a world-class production team is a big step for us towards that direction and dream,” ABS-CBN president and chief executive Carlo Katigbak said.
The sound stages represent the beginning of a plan to establish a production hub that include sound stages, backlots, production and post production facilities and offices that will allow both ABS-CBN and Philippine-based productions to match production facilities found elsewhere in the world.
In parallel with the construction work, the production and support teams for both TV and Feature Films began a three-year training program for the stages both in Hollywood and in the Philippines designed by Manhattan Beach Studios together with ABS-CBN Studios Inc. and ABS-CBN University.
Covering all aspects of production, the courses involved over 150 people and were designed to ensure that production processes mirror the best practices in the world.
ABS-CBN earlier said it aimed to save about 65 percent to 75 percent in shooting location costs with the construction of the new sound stage
“What I’m most proud of about this project is that we’re creating Hollywood-level sound stages which puts us at par with the rest of the world,” ABS-CBN chairman Mark Lopez said.
The project was the brainchild of ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Eugenio Lopez III, who saw that building the studios is the best way to keep in step with the world’s top entertainment companies, which shoot bigger percentages of their programs and films in sound stages and not in remote locations.
Moreover, the sound stages also enable the company to manage production costs more efficiently.
Phase 1 of the production hub includes two 1,500 sq. m. (16,000 sq. ft.) sound stages with a floor to grid height of 30 feet, a breezeway with dressing rooms and various support rooms and the technical facilities in aid of production.
Sitting on 7.7 hectares, the facility includes a visitor’s center, parking facilities and various support buildings. The sound stages also boast of solar panels that help support the energy requirements of the whole facility.
Work on the sound stages started as early as 2010 with various members of the executive and production teams visiting facilities in South Korea, Mexico, North America, Europe and Asia to understand the nuances of sound stage work.
The project proper started in first quarter of 2014 with construction commencing May 2017.